Thursday, September 23, 2010

This is the second year of VERSUS carrying a series called Quest for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. That show airs at 7PM ET on Wednesdays and runs through the Chase. This year, however, something is hiding right behind that program.

NASCAR - Next Generation was one of those shows that just popped-up on the radar without fanfare or promotion. The brief media release said the show would look at some young drivers coming up through the ranks with a desire to reach the Sprint Cup Series ranks.

Lorin Ranier is the person who appears on-camera to talk about the pursuit of this dream by youngsters across the country and around the world. Ranier, who is shown above, is a veteran spotter in NASCAR but in this series focuses on his other interest of bringing along young drivers.

They key to the program is that almost none of these lower tier races are televised. Seeing the kids in carts, Bandolero's, Legends and sprints makes for interesting TV when mixed with Ranier's candid comments. It's truly behind the scenes with the next generation.

Over the next four weeks, these shows will take a shot at profiling some of the up and coming drivers. Seeing the challenges of youngsters taking to the track while still obeying their parents and trying to get homework done is a nice change of pace.

The NASCAR Media Group produced the show, so it has the high-end glossy style of editing that is the trademark of that organization. VERSUS is in year two of televising the Quest for the Cup series, but NASCAR - Next Generation is brand new.

Some of the drivers featured over the next month include Logan Ruffin, Jessica Brunelli, Marc Davis and Cole Whitt. Those names may be familiar to some who have watched various other attempts by NASCAR to get some additional TV exposure for the next generation of drivers.

It's going to be fun to watch the remaining episodes of NASCAR - Next Generation and see just who is out there waiting in the wings to become the next big name driver in the sport. Perhaps, we can have some more original NASCAR programming on VERSUS if the reaction to these two series is positive.

If you watched the show, please let us know what you thought. To add your opinion, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for stopping by.